This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/166,123 filed Jul. 1, 2008, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,403 on May 29, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/039,551 filed Jan. 20, 2005, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,005, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/657,886, filed Sep. 9, 2003, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,892,778, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The present invention is directed to a wheel end assembly having a high temperature warning system for giving a warning in the event that the temperature in the assembly reaches a predetermined value such as by a hub-bearing failure or brake related failure. The system may be a stand-alone system for installation on any vehicle such as a tractor trailer or in another embodiment may be a system combined with an automatic tire inflation system.
In the event of a wheel end assembly bearing failure or brake related failure on a vehicle such as a tractor trailer, the temperature in the assembly and axle spindle area can reach a temperature to where the tires or lubricant may ignite causing the vehicle to burn or the wheel to lock up. It is also the possibility, due to the intense heat caused by any failure that the wheel can detach from the axle.